Knowing and Being Known

Life’s Aim: Knowing God

What were we created for?

To know God

What is our life’s aim?

To know God

We are not temporary but are created as eternal beings. Our life’s goal and aim should match our eternity’s goal and aim.

Jesus shows us in his prayer that his purpose is to make God known.

John 17:1-3 “1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

John 17:20-26 “20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Knowing God has always been the goal.

Jeremiah 9:23-26 “23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” 25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Hosea 6:4-6 “4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

When we finally understand that knowing God is the purpose of our lives, it becomes our guiding reality. Our actions may or may not change but the desired outcomes do. Our aim changes. Our intentions change. Knowing God is fundamental to having “abundant life”.

John 10:7-15 “7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Clearly, knowing God is vital to a Christian. Does knowing God mean tingly feelings? Or maybe a sense of holiness? Or is it understanding theological concepts? Or being able to expound on the texts of the Bible? This isn’t an idea we can gloss over but we have to grasp it! We have to know what exactly it means to know.

What Does Knowing Mean?

“Knowing” is directly related to what is being known. The more complex the object is, the more complex knowing it becomes.

Knowing directions is fairly simple. There are exact steps to take and order to taking them. If you turn left when you are supposed to turn right, even if the next turn is a right turn, you will end up lost.

Knowing math becomes a little more complex, but is still rather simple. 2 plus 2 always equals 4. There is order and logic to math, even if we don’t always know the order or logic.

Living things is a different story. Knowing animals, for example, is not as logical or simple. If someone says, “I know this dog,” it means they have enough past experience to guess how to dog will behave in a particular set of circumstances, but there is always a little doubt. I like to believe that Cooper would never bite me, but given the right circumstances he just might do it. 99% of the time I can tell you exactly what he will do because he always shows his intentions without reserve.

Knowing people is highly complex because secrets come into the equation. Humans have shame, pride, selfishness, along with tons of other factors, in decision making. How often do we “know” people and find out their story, home life, future plans, or just even a different environment and realize we don’t know this person at all? It really depends on how much they want to reveal to us, how much they want to allow us into their lives.

“Imagine, now, that we are going to be introduced to someone whom we feel to be “above” us—whether in rank, or intellectual distinction, or professional skill, or personal sanctity, or in some other respect. The more conscious we are of our own inferiority, the more we shall feel that our part is simply to attend to this person respectfully and let him take the initiative in the conversation. (Think of meeting the queen of England or the president of the United States.) We would like to get to know this exalted person, but we fully realize that this is a matter for him to decide, not us. If he confines himself to courteous formalities with us, we may be disappointed, but we do not feel able to complain; after all, we had no claim on his friendship. But if instead he starts at once to take us into his confidence, and tells us frankly what is in his mind on matters of common concern, and if he goes on to invite us to join him in particular undertakings he has planned, and asks us to make ourselves permanently available for this kind of collaboration whenever he needs us, then we shall feel enormously privileged, and it will make a world of difference to our general outlook. If life seemed unimportant and dreary hitherto, it will not seem so anymore, now that the great man has enrolled us among his personal assistants. Here is something to write home about—and something to live up to!” - Packer, J. I.. Knowing God

Knowing God must be the most complex, yet the most rewarding, knowing possible! When we know God we are called into his service. We become citizens of His Kingdom. We don’t have a distant king who lives in a castle with zero involvement in our lives. We have a King who is directly enlisting us into the army of his Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 3:9 “9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

1 Timothy 1:12-17 “12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

How do we know God?

Listening to God’s Word and receiving its applications

Recognizing who God is as his Word reveals

Accepting his command to serve his Kingdom as a friend and servant

Rejoicing the fact that he has called us into fellowship

Ultimately, knowing God is a response to his invitation to know him. The underlying support for knowing God is first being known by him.

Being Known

Our knowing must lead us to doing but knowing God is only possible if we are, in fact, alive. Notice in John 17 that Jesus was, and still is, the initiator in knowing.

John 17:26 “26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

At the right time God took the initiative to save us from our sins. Paul emphasizes in verse 9 that knowing God is really just being known by him first!

Galatians 4:3-9 “3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

God knows us personally and has rescued us.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 “11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”

Ezekiel 34:23-24 “23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

John 10:14-16 “14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

God’s knowledge of us is as clear as possible. He knows our deepest, darkest secrets. He knows sins in our hearts that we don’t know exist. He knows our thoughts. He knows our motives and intentions. He knows how broken we are. He knows how little we have to offer him. He knows we were dead. Yet...

Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Conclusion

The highest honor is being known by God and being allowed to know him. He has revealed his greatness to us in his sacrifice on the cross, and even more in his resurrection from the dead.

Romans 8:31-39 “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”